


Repercussions

by Shivver



Series: The Actor, AU #2 [9]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who RPF
Genre: AU, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-27
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-17 13:50:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4668974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shivver/pseuds/Shivver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a thrill to run with the Doctor, thwarting alien invasions and saving the Earth. But what if the invasion comes and you're just like everyone else, stuck on the ground, surrounded by immediate, unfathomable danger, with no help in sight? (AU #2 for "The Actor", story #8)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is set after _Neighbours_.

As he stepped off the lift, Will was not surprised to find David lounging on one of the couches in the hotel lobby at precisely 11:30. With no extenuating circumstances, he was always punctual to the second, if not early, which, Will surmised, was to be expected from a Time Lord. At the sight of his friend, David jumped up and strode to meet him with a delighted smile, and the two grasped hands in greeting.

"Glad you could make it down! How was the drive?"

"Splendid. Relaxing, and plenty to see, as always." David glanced around the lobby and out the glass front doors. "It's been over four years since I've been down here - well, a similar 'here' anyway - and I rather miss it. The big city, the crowds of humanity, all the history!" His face shone with enchantment. "Not that I've been to Twickenham before, mind you." He motioned at the couch he had just vacated and they sat down. "How's work been going?"

"Slow. The project is huge, and it's hard to mix two development teams' styles and processes and make it actually work efficiently." Will flopped back and splayed his arms along the top of the couch back. "If this wasn't such a huge contract, I think Markus would have walked out on it by now. The product manager, woman by the name of Sophia, thinks she's a designer and won't let him do what he does best." He shrugged. "We've only two more weeks down here, and I don't know if we'll be able to pull it out by then. Just don't mention anything when Markus is around, unless you want your ears whinged off."

"I'm sure you'll get it together. Your group is so talented and dedicated."

Will shook his head, doubting the outcome. "I wish that's all it took to make a project succeed. It's the personalities that get in the way."

"That's always the way of it, isn't it?"

"Well, at least we have the weekends to relax, though I expect we'll have to work through most of next weekend. We'll just make the most of this one." He glanced at the elevator. "They'll be down soon, I'm sure. They're never on time."

"I'm in no rush. So what am I in for today?"

"Nothing too exciting, I'm afraid. We've done most of the tourist things over the last three weekends. You know, British Museum, National Gallery, Tower of London, the V&A, St. Paul's." He sat back with a sigh of resignation. "Today's all about Twickenham. Amy's from here, you know, so Ben's been after her about taking us on the tour of the town. You know how he is, has to see every last historic site everywhere, wouldn't let her weasel out of it." He shook his head, his smirk a mixture of amusement and sarcasm. "I think we'll be getting lunch, then hitting some houses and gardens. Tomorrow we'll see the stadium. Amy sent a list in her email, but to be honest," he leaned in conspiratorially, "I really didn't read it."

David laughed and lounged back on the couch. "It's all fine by me. I'm game for all of it."

"You always are."

Over the next ten minutes, as the men continued to chat, Will's co-workers appeared one by one, coming down from their rooms in the lift. Ben was the first to arrive, eager to get going on their tour and disdainful of the tardiness of the others, though he was late himself. Amy came down not long after, and then it was a few minutes' wait before Markus finally stepped into the lobby. After their greetings, Ben sprang up from his seat and bounced on his toes, impatient to get the day's exploring started.

The group walked down a few blocks to grab lunch, at what Amy called "the best Thai food in Twickenham". During their meal, Ben fairly lectured them on the history he’d researched about the town, paying extra attention to the places that Amy said she was going to take them. Whilst Amy periodically murmured to no one, "I didn't know any of that," Will tried to pretend to be interested. David, who was toying with and not eating his child's portion of pad thai, listened with an enraptured expression, mumbling under his breath about whether or not certain details were true, noting to himself, "I should check that," making Will have to bite back a laugh many times, as he was sure David was not referring to doing historical research at the library or via Google. Markus didn't bother to look interested, and spent the meal fiddling with one of the ubiquitous strange black cubes which the restaurant had placed as centerpieces, three to a table. Once everyone had eaten, Ben couldn't rush them out of the place fast enough, leading them out as he unfolded his map of the town, pencilled with the route he wanted them to take to the various sites. As they left the table, Markus snagged his pet cube before following them out and trotting to catch up with Ben.

"You're taking that?" Amy goggled at Markus and glanced at the hostess who held the door open for them as they exited.

"Aye. No one cares." He juggled it in his hand as he talked, and the hostess paid him no mind. "It's not like they're hard to get. I bet they have a hundred in the back."

"Those things still scare me," she replied, eyeing it nervously. "What are they for?"

"Who says they have to be for anything?" Markus practised tossing the cube up and catching it on the back of his hand. "They've been around for a year now, and they don't open or do anything, and x-ray machines say they're solid all the way through. The UN called them safe long ago."

"Doesn't the fact that they appeared all over the world in one night bother you at all?" Ben asked.

Markus shrugged. "I'm leaving that to the experts. If it doesn't bother them, why should it bother me?"

Letting himself lag behind the rest to come abreast of David, Will leaned toward his friend and murmured, "Anything?"

"Nope." David shrugged, then whispered back, "Not that I have a lab yet to inspect them properly, but I never found anything in them. Couldn't even mar the surface."

Ben had continued lecturing Markus. "You shouldn't let the 'experts' do the thinking for you. Suspicion is always a healthy impulse when dealing with the unknown." Thinking, he peered up at the clouds. "I wonder if they also appeared in the oceans? Are there millions of cubes at the bottom of the sea?"

Behind him, David wagged a finger at his back and murmured to Will, "Now there's an idea. Troll the sea bottom, and the unpopulated land areas. If there aren't cubes there, then they're definitely targeted at humans. I should look to see if anyone's done that study, when I get back home."

"Well, you're wrong, you know, Markus." Amy's tone was playful.

"About what?"

"About them not doing anything. See?" She pointed at the cube that Markus was carrying, which displayed a bright blue sigil on all sides. All five of them stopped and stared it.

Ben was the first to speak. "Seven? What does that mean?"

"How do you know that's a seven?" Amy wondered. "Could be an 'L', or some strange script. Or a fishhook."

Markus bristled uncomfortably, then broke into an excited grin. "It's finally doing something! This is cool."

"That's not cool," Ben objected, hugging himself nervously. "That's weird. After all this time, it's got a glowing symbol on it."

"Yes!" Markus held the cube up at eye level. "We finally get to see what it does."

"Markus," David murmured as he held out a steadying hand, "I think you should put that down and step away from it."

"Why? It's just a cube. It's harmless. It doesn't do anything."

"I don't think it's a bad idea to exercise some caution." Trying to not startle him, David slowly pulled out his phone and started tapping the screen.

Looking around, up and down the street, Amy noticed that many people were staring at the cubes they had and were discussing them with their companions. "It's not just your cube. It's all of them."

As everyone started looking around, Will sucked in his breath. "It says six now. I guess that proves they're numbers."

"Is that a countdown?" Ben gasped. He began backing away. "Oh, mate, put that thing down."

"Come on!" Markus rolled his eyes at his friends' paranoia. "These things have done nothing for a year. I don't see what you're worried about." He frowned in confusion as David pointed the end of his phone at the cube in his hand, not in the usual manner of taking a picture of the thing. The device made a high electronic trilling noise for a few seconds, then the man stared at the display and began tapping again.

Will tried to sound reasonable. "Well, yes, it's been a year and they've done nothing. What's the problem in waiting a bit longer to see what happens when it gets to zero? Just put it down and we'll watch it, and when we all see that it's safe, you can take it right back."

Markus stared at each of his friends in turn. Amy looked terrified, Ben worried, and Will like a parent trying to calm down his fussy child, whilst David stared at his phone with his hand over his mouth. Rolling his eyes again, he shrugged and squatted to place the cube on the pavement. "There, happy?" he grumbled as he stood up and stepped a few feet away.

"Yes, much better," Amy sighed with some relief.

"Now it's five," Ben pointed out.

David glanced at the cube for a moment, then returned his attention to his phone, mumbling, "Longer than a minute, shorter than a microspan. Don't know any established unit of that specific length."

Will glanced over to see masses of circles and lines bubbling over David's screen. "Anything?" he asked his friend.

"Not a thing. It's no different than it ever was. It's like the number isn't even there."

"What are you two on about?" demanded Ben.

The question seemed to draw David out of his studious trance. He drew in a deep breath. "Nothing. We should put some distance between it and us, I think."

"We should go and leave it where it is," suggested Amy, backing away a bit more.

"No." Markus crossed his arms and stood firm. "I want to see what it does, and I want it back when this is all over."

Ben threw up his hands in exasperation. "All right. It stays there, we stay here, but we move a good distance away. Come on." He spun on his heel and marched off to a spot five metres away and no closer to any of the other groups of people on the sidewalk with cubes, and his friends followed him. As the cube counted down, they stood and watched, silent: Amy hid behind Ben, David and Will stood shoulder to shoulder, and Markus squatted in front, wanting the first glimpse of what the cube might actually do.

The numbers on the cube slowly changed, from five to four, to three, to two, then to one. When it finally reached zero, the number disappeared and the top of the cube popped open. Markus jumped up to see over the lip, but it was too far away to make anything out. "Let’s see what’s inside, shall we?" He started to stride toward the open cube.

"No, Markus, wait! Let's -" Ben never finished his sentence as Markus, leaning in over the cube, jerked and collapsed. Ben and Will dashed forward to him as David and Amy whirled to see others around them, afflicted in the same way.

"What happened?" Will exclaimed as he hooked Markus under his armpits and dragged him away from the cube.

"Look!" Amy shouted. "It's happening all over the place!" 

People were dropping up and down the street, or screamed as their companions succumbed. Some cars in the road screeched to a halt, whilst others careened into other cars and onto the sidewalks as their drivers lost consciousness. Tapping on his phone, David pointed it at the nearest moving car. As it began to trill, the engine of the car shut off, and it coasted to a far gentler crash against a low wall than it otherwise might have done. "Amy!" he called as he continued to target other cars. "Help Markus!"

Amy had been staring at him in confusion but reacted immediately, sprinting over to Ben, who had grabbed Markus' legs and was helping Will haul him to safety, away from the street. "What's wrong with him?" 

"I don't know. He just collapsed." He and Will laid Markus out under the awning of a shop. "Er, know any first aid? CPR?"

"Not me," Will mumbled as he looked Markus over, his hands twitching nervously as he wondered what to do. Amy also shook her head.

Ben threw up his hands, helpless, then glancing up at their other friend in the hopes the inventor might be able to tell anything, stared at the man pointing his phone around the area. "What is David doing?"

Will spun around to seek out his friend. "Bloody hell," he mumbled. "David!"

At the sound of his name, the man turned, firing one last electronic screech at a car. "Yes, coming! The road's safe now, more or less." Sprinting over, he pointed his phone at Markus' chest, the device whirring. "Cardiac arrest. His heart is fibrillating. I think the cube directed an electrical pulse at it."

"Is that what's happening to everyone?" Amy was frozen in panic. "What do we do?"

Will turned to David, who was frowning at his mobile, his hand over his mouth. "Can you help him?"

"I think so. I need your mobile, Will. Quickly." As Will dug his phone out of his pocket and handed it over, David added, "You're probably not going to get it back. I don't think it'll survive this." He pointed his own phone at Will's, and it made that odd trilling noise again.

"Just save him, mate. What are you doing?"

"Severely overcharging the battery." His eyes on the phones, David jerked his head toward Markus. "Pull his jumper off, will you?"

"What?" asked Ben. "Why?"

"Just do it!" Will commanded and propped Markus up so that Ben could pull the shirt over his head. They laid him back down with the jumper balled up as a pillow for him.

"There." David placed one phone just below Markus' right shoulder and the other down on his left torso. "Clear." As soon as Ben and Will pulled back, David pressed the button on the side of his own phone and the muscles in Markus' chest twitched. Pointing his phone at the man's chest again and letting it buzz for a few seconds, David glanced at its screen, then nodded. "It worked. His pulse is steady." A tentative but satisfied smile curved his lips as he tossed Will's phone back to its owner.

"Oh, good show, mate!" He tapped the button on his mobile. "You're right. It's bricked."

Ben shook his head in amazement. "I don't know what you just did, but that was brilliant! Can you do that for others?"

"As long as we have mobiles to use, or anything with a battery I can work with. But people will start dying very soon. Minutes at best. Come on." David hopped up. "Ben, can you stay with Markus and make sure he's okay?"

"Yeah. Here's mine." Ben lobbed his phone at David, then turned back to Markus, who was still unconscious. "Go to it."

Led by David, who was preparing Ben's phone, the three headed for an older woman lying near the edge of the road with a very stricken-looking young man next to her, making sure to give the cube on the ground a wide berth. Will ordered the man to step back so that they could help while Amy opened the woman's blouse. Like before, David laid the phones on her torso and applied the voltage, and the woman's heart steadied. Without delay, they dashed up the sidewalk to the next victim, this time using Amy's phone to resuscitate the man.

They managed to save the next person after begging her friend for a phone to use, but they found that the one after that had already died. His phone hanging limply in his hand, David staggered back, gazing all around them, horrified. "There's so many. I can't possibly help more than a handful more."

Will tugged on his arm. "Come on! Let's save as many as we can."

Whirling away from him, David sprinted back toward Ben and Markus. "I've got to stop this at the source."

Will and Amy ran after him. "How?" Will called.

"I don't know!" David's voice was shrill with frustration. "Figure out how those things work? Reverse them maybe? If they can stop a heart, they can start it back up again!" Reaching his now-conscious but still prostrate friend, he yelled at Ben, "Give me his phone!"

Startled, Ben frisked Markus' pockets and pulled out the mobile. "This?"

"Yes!" Yanking the phone out of Ben's hand, David immediately applied his whirring phone to it as he dashed away down the street, away from the direction from which he'd approached. "Amy, Ben, stay here. Will, come on!"

Gaping at him, Amy began, "What the -?" but was cut off by Will's hand on her shoulder. "Just stay here. It'll be okay." He smiled at her, then sprinted off after David. "Come on, mate! What are you doing?" he called to him, but the man continued running, through the clogged intersection and halfway down the next block.

Stopping abruptly, David whirled and tossed Markus' phone to his friend, who caught it as he ran up. "It's primed. If you have to use it, this button here." He held up his own mobile and pointed at one of the buttons on the side. "One high, one low, like I was doing earlier." 

"Right. I hope you know what you're doing, mate."

"I don't. I'm doing the best I can. I thought I told you to stay up there?" The last sentence was directed at Amy, who had appeared at Will's elbow.

"I want to help," she replied, fists on her hips defiantly.

"You can't. I'm going to figure out how that cube there works. You two need to get as far away as possible in case it fires again. Now go." Whirling, he strode off toward the cube, ten metres away.

"No!" cried Amy as Will tried to tug her back up toward Ben and Markus. "It'll kill you!"

"No, it won't. I've got two," David called back over his shoulder. "I'll have time."

"What?" she cried. David's quip made no sense to her.

"Come on, Amy. Let him do what he can." Taking her hand, he pulled again, and they ran back to the intersection, stopping there to watch.

As David neared the cube, this time they saw the electricity arc directly into his chest and he stumbled, catching himself from falling with a heavy stomp. "Oh! God, that hurts." Grunting, he swayed on his feet, concentrating on steadying himself.

"David!" 

Will started toward him, but his friend stuck out a hand to stop him. "Stay back, Will! This will kill you. Can’t let that happen." Hesitating, Will stopped, and Amy clung to his elbow, the both of them watching intently. Ben came up on the other side of Will, supporting Markus. David flashed them a feeble grin as he stumbled toward the cube. "It's the left one, by the way, Will. The left one. It's fibri... fibr... It's not right," he gasped.

Dropping heavily to the ground, David grabbed the cube, dumping it in his lap. He inspected it as he panted, his breath ragged. "There's nothing in this thing. How does it work?" he cried. Waving his trilling phone over and inside the box, he shook his head as he clutched at his chest with his free hand. "Nothing. Nothing! What is it? How does it work? Something's got to be controlling it. If I can send a signal out..." He held it up and peered at it. "How? How? Oh, I can't think, it hurts..."

"Will?" Ben murmured as he stared at their friend. "What is he doing? He's not going to last long."

"I don't know. He’ll think of something." Will looked up and down the street, at the knots of people tending the unconscious victims. There wasn't much time left for them, and he suspected not much more for David. His friend might have two hearts, but he couldn't imagine that he could survive for very long on only one.

David continued to rant as he tried everything he could think of. "The attack was coordinated. It's gotta be communicating. But how? Not basic electromagnetics." Pointing his phone at it, he let it whir as his fingers danced over the screen. "Not subwave. Not transtemporal. Gamma hyperdigitals? Positron synchrocast? What else could it be? Oh, oh, ow!” Cringing as his torso twitched painfully, he involuntarily curled over the cube. “Yeah, no, er, tele... tele... telep..." Digging under his shirt, he pulled out the necklace he always wore and tore it from his neck, leaving a bloody trail where the chain abraded his skin. He stuffed the remnants in his pocket as he picked up the cube and held it to his forehead. "No, no, nothing there. What else? It's gotta be something. Carrier pigeons. Smoke signals." He mopped at his brow. "Concentrate, David. You have to..." 

He grimaced against the pain, shuddering, then straightened. "Okay. Different tack. Stop the thing. Make it fix everyone. How? How do I change the direction of a box? Think, think, think! No mechanics. No wirings. Electron spin flips?" His wavings of the phone over the cube became more manic. "No. Rapid chronodynamic excitations? No. Repeated kinetic impacts?" He pounded the cube on the pavement in front of him five or six times. "No. How do I do this?" His throat was choked with sobs of frustration. "What will make it go off again?” Lighting up with a sudden epiphany, he stuck the phone into the cube and roared, “ _Reverse the bloody polarity!_ " as he jammed the button.

Lightning burst out of the cube, a myriad of bolts arcing to victims up and down the block, sizzling past the onlookers diving for cover. David screamed as his body spasmed from a number of arcs spearing through him on the way to their targets, and he collapsed over the cube.

"David!" Will bellowed, and the four friends dashed to him. They pulled him off the cube and laid him back on the pavement. His clothing and skin were blackened and burnt at the spots where the electricity had torn through his body. Will ripped his shirt off then located his mobile, clenched tightly in his fist, and pried it out. "Okay, I hope this works." He laid David's phone on his left shoulder and Markus' phone just beneath his breastbone. "Clear back, mates."

"No!" Ben grabbed Markus' phone. "You're supposed to put it here," and he laid the phone on David's right torso, "so they’re on opposite sides of the heart."

"No, this is right." Will moved the phone back. "Trust me. This is how it works for him. It's the left..." His words trailed off, and he held up a finger, shaking it. "No, no, it's..." He dove down and listened first at the right side of David's chest, then at the left side, then sprang back up. "Wrong, wrong!" He grabbed David's phone and placed it on his right shoulder. "The electricity stopped the right one while the left started up again. Clear!"

"What are you..." Ben began.

"I said, clear!" Ben startled back at Will's angry command, and Will took the opportunity to activate David's phone. His chest rippled with the firing of his muscles, then Will bent over again to listen at both sides. "They're both beating. He's alive." With a tentative smile, Will heaved a relieved sigh as the other three stared, stunned.

Ben was the first to shake off his shock. "'Both beating'? What? What’s going on? What the bloody hell was that?"

Trembling, Markus pointed at the man laid out on the pavement. "What is he?" His words squeaked an octave higher than normal.

"A hero," Amy answered before Will could. She was terrified, too, peeking out from behind Ben, but she could see past it. Glancing around at the people nearby, many of whom were victims who were just starting to regain consciousness, she caught Will's gaze and jerked her head in their direction. "We shouldn't let him lie here on the sidewalk. Can we get him back to the hotel?"

"Yes," Will agreed, "back to the hotel. I don't know how long he's going to be out." Nodding, he looked up at Ben and Markus. "Can you help me?"

"I'm not touching him!" Markus declared. "And you are telling us right now what's going on! How did he survive that? How did he make that cube do that?"

Will swallowed his anger before replying. "I will tell you as much as I can, _when_ we get him back to the hotel. Not before. Now help me!"

Ben and Amy immediately moved to help carry the unconscious man, and the three of them slowly moved toward the hotel with their burden, Markus trailing behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

Between the two of them, Ben and Will were able to carry David the rather long distance back to the hotel, with Amy forging a path for them through the knots of people. As they neared the hotel, the cubes emitted electrical pulses toward the victims. The luckier or hardier ones sat up almost immediately, testing themselves with disbelief, whilst others took time to gain consciousness. However, for every surviving victim, there was at least one dead, and plenty of collateral damage from crashed cars, abandoned machinery, and personal injury from people collapsing where they stood.

With so much disaster around and no emergency services response, no one paid the group any attention as they carried David through the hotel lobby and into the lift. Once in Will’s room, he, Ben, and Amy laid the man out on the bed and covered him with a blanket whilst Markus stood by the door, unable to take his eyes off the unconscious man. As soon as the three stepped away from the bed, he blurted out, “Okay, I’ve waited long enough. Who is he?”

Will disappeared into the en suite, reappearing a moment later with a wet towel. He began cleaning the bloody tear on David's neck left by the pendant's chain, noticing that the skin was already nearly closed and the burnt patches were starting to fade. He took a deep breath before answering Markus' question. “David’s an alien." Amy, who had sat down on the opposite side of the bed from Will to help tend the unconscious man, immediately hopped back up and scooted over to stand by Ben, who was staring at Will in surprised horror. Will amended his statement immediately. "Partly. He's partly human, but mostly alien.”

Markus gaped and coughed before finally replying. “An alien? He’s an alien?” He stared at the unconscious man, then glared at Will, flinging a pointing finger toward the window. “Are you telling me _he’s_ responsible for all that out there? I almost died!”

Incredulous, Will stared at Markus and shook his head, as if trying to clear what he had just heard from his ears. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out, getting stuck in his throat. He finally coughed out, “What? How in the world did you jump from what I said to _that_? He had nothing to do with that, whatever that was! Did you pay attention at all? He tried to save people, not kill them. He saved your life!”

“Who knows why an alien would do anything? That's what the word means, doesn't it? 'Alien'? Completely different and unfathomable?” Markus spun on his heel and began pacing back and forth past the bed. "My god, he's an alien. What does he really look like? Green and scaly with tentacles and bug eyes? And what's he doing here? Scoping out the planet to lead an invasion and enslave mankind?" Stopping short, he turned to stare at the unconscious man. "We have to protect ourselves! Turn him in. Or kill him before he escapes."

As Ben mumbled, "Wait, that's completely uncalled for," Will jumped up from the bed and strode around to get in Markus' face. "What is wrong with you? He has no designs on the planet, other than to just live here. He considers the Earth his home. When has he ever been anything other than a good friend to you?"

Markus jabbed a finger toward David. "When he started living right under our noses, pretending to be just another bloke, but no, he's an alien! You saw what he did! He lived through getting hit by those cubes, twice!"

"What?" Will stared at David as if somehow, the man he was looking at was different from the one Markus saw. "He almost died! He only survived because he prepped your phone beforehand."

Markus flared with new outrage. "He had no right to take my phone! Give that back!" 

Rolling his eyes, Will pulled the two phones from his pocket and, identifying David's, handed the other to Markus, who immediately inspected it, punching its activation button. "It's not working!"

"No." Will patted his own pocket. "Triggering the electrical charge bricks it. Mine's dead, too. You know, the one that saved your life," he drawled with heavy sarcasm.

Markus peered up at Will, glowering. "He's dangerous, Will."

Will threw up his hands. "He's done absolutely nothing to hurt anyone!"

"Oh, like those cubes, eh?" Markus smirked. "Just humming along, keeping his secrets, then one day, _bam_ , he kills us all." Throwing his hands up, he whirled away. "He made that cube explode! How did he know it wasn't going to kill everyone else on that street?" Spinning back to Will, he jabbed a finger at David. "I don't trust him. He's an _alien_."

"He's got no ill intentions. Look at what he just did! He could have -" Will broke off, clapping a hand to his mouth and staring off at the wall. "Ohhhh..."

"What?" Markus glanced at Ben and Amy, who were huddled out of the way of the argument but were just as confused about Will's change of attitude.

Will snorted and glanced at Markus with a sardonic eye. "You sound just like I did when I found out." Throwing his head back, he barked a sad, ironic laugh.

"Don't laugh at me!" Markus growled.

"I'm not," Will replied, shaking his head. "I'm laughing at myself." He threw the bloodied towel across the room onto the kitchen counter.

Markus startled at slow laughter coming from an unexpected quarter. “What now?” he shot at Ben, who mopped at his eyes as he shook his head.

“He’s an alien. David’s an alien!” Ben repeated to himself. “That explains everything!”

“What?” asked Markus, clearly puzzled.

“Mr. Know-It-All. You don’t know him barely at all, Markus, but me… We’ve been mates for a bit now. Loves a good argument, he does, I’m sure because he knows he’s going to win. Arrogant bastard,” he spat the man in the bed, his expression laced with suspicion and jealousy. He glanced up at Will. "How long have you known?"

"Since the Judoon." Will hastened to clarify as Ben frowned at the unfamiliar term. "The space rhinos, the ones that destroyed the company picnic."

"Over two years, then." When Will nodded, Ben stared at him. "You said you didn't know a thing about them."

"I lied. I'm sorry." Sincerely contrite, he shrugged his helplessness. "Telling the truth would have meant revealing David's secrets, and those are not mine to tell." 

Amy crossed her arms with a suspicious frown. "Then tell us the truth now."

"I am." Will exhaled heavily before beginning. "Those rhinos, they're called Judoon. They're basically space police and they came here to -"

"To take him away, didn't they?" Markus broke in. "He's some kind of outer space criminal, isn't he?"

Will shook his head at how thick Markus was being. "Not at all. They came here to retrieve an alien weapon that had been left here on Earth. Remember those rumours of two unknown men talking to the rhinos and convincing them to leave? That was us. David was the one who talked to them and figured out what they wanted, and I helped him find it. He had to tell me about himself so that I knew that he knew what he was doing."

Markus pursed his lips with a supercilious air. "Oh, I'm sure that's what he wanted you think. It was probably all staged just to make you think he's friendly."

Will coughed incredulously and drew in a breath to mock his friend, but Ben spoke first. "Okay, Markus, you're reaching now. This is all unbelievable, but come on. Stage an invasion just to make him reveal to Will that he's a friendly alien? That's mental."

“Completely mental,” Will agreed. “Just calm down and think, Markus! He’s the same person you’ve known all this time. It doesn’t matter that he’s an alien.”

“What is he?” Amy’s soft, tremulous voice cut through the harsher male argument, and all three turned to see her staring at the man in the bed. “Is he really green and scaly?”

Will realised that he had worked himself up too far and forced himself to calm down, to reassure her. “No. He looks just like he does. He’s a Time Lord.”

“A what?” Ben squinted in confusion as Amy glanced at Will to make sure she heard right.

"A Time Lord," Will repeated, then shrugged. “Yeah, that was my reaction when he told me, too.”

Amy shook her head, frowning. “Are you sure that’s not some kind of translation error? I mean, there’s no way his people speak English, right?”

“To be honest, I’ve never asked. But that’s what he calls himself.”

Markus snorted. “And what’s the name of the planet he comes from? Timelordia?”

Their laughter brought the four friends back together for a moment. Still smiling, Will skirted the bed and sat down on it, taking a moment to check on the unconscious man. He turned back to Markus. “The name of the planet he’s from is Earth. I told you that he’s partly human. He grew up human, up near Glasgow, and I’m not going to explain how that works, because that’s his business, but his home is here.”

“So you’re saying that anyone could be an alien, then?” Markus jabbed his finger at his friends. “You, or you, or you? Are there hidden aliens everywhere?”

“No!" Will waved a finger at Markus. "You are not going to drag us into a completely unrelated argument, Markus. This is about David, who’s been our mate, my _best_ mate for the past two years, and who just risked his life to save yours and everyone's on that street." He pointed at David lying unconscious in the bed. "That tells you everything you need to know about him. Why does it matter that he’s not human?”

“Because he scares me to death,” Amy murmured. Hugging herself, she settled into the armchair and rocked back and forth as she spoke, pointedly staring down at the ground and away from the man in the bed. “I don’t know what he is, what he wants. I know, he’s always been a nice guy, but… Why’s he here? What does he want with us? And he survived all that lightning. I mean, that stuff he did, and now look, he hasn't got a mark on him.” Unable to contain her agitation, she jumped up and paced around the room. “All these aliens running around now, and they’re so powerful. Those mind controllers on that one Christmas. Those robots flying around killing people when those planets appeared in the sky. Those spiky spaceships and that 'prisoner zero' thing.” She turned back to eye Will. “He’s so much more than us, isn’t he? He could kill us all, just like that, couldn't he?”

Markus pointed at Amy, nodding. “That’s what I said! We need to tell someone about him. That’s what UNIT is for, right? Protecting us against aliens.”

Will leaned back against the headboard, running both hands through his hair. “Why are we arguing about what he _might_ do? Think about what _has_ happened, what he’s done. He's never done anything to harm us, and honestly, from everything I’ve seen, he goes out of his way to help us." He sat up and faced Markus. "Look at what he just did! He walked up to the cube knowing it might kill him. And you don’t know this, mate, but when the Judoon accused the town of hiding that weapon they were looking for, he took responsibility for it, so that instead of attacking the town, they would execute him in our place. And they almost did. Would any of you do that? Offer yourself to be killed in the place of a bunch of people you don't even know? I wouldn’t, but that’s what he does. That’s what he is.”

Ben and Amy rocked back in surprise and glanced at each other, considering this new information, but Markus waved it away. “All I know is that you still haven’t told us what happened, how he did what he did, how he survived that jolt.”

“And what he was doing before that,” added Amy. “He was stopping the cars in the street. How was he doing that?”

Markus nodded at Amy conspiratorily and turned back to Will. “You’re just trying to distract us from the truth.”

“I am doing no such thing. I'm trying to tell you the truth.” Will glanced at David, clearly unsure if he should talk. He dragged both hands down over his face before replying. “It’s really his business, and it’s not right that I tell you what's his. But,” and he held up a hand to keep Markus from interrupting him, “you deserve to know, at least the basics.” Markus nodded at him, barely concealing his interest. “Yes, he’s alien and he’s different from us, even though he looks the same. Among other things, he’s got two hearts, so he took the chance that the cube would only stop one of them and that he could survive on only the remaining one.” Amy gasped, and Ben slapped a hand to his mouth in horror. “I’ve no idea what he did to make that cube fire again, but yes, he does have advanced technology. His mobile is something he calls a sonic probe, and I think he was using it to shut off the cars on the street to try to stop them.”

“Advanced technology!” Markus nodded knowingly. “I told you!” He spun on Ben and Amy, who were staring at David, trying to understand what Will had just told them. “He’s not human _and_ he’s got advanced technology. He can control anyone’s car with his mobile. Crash it instead of stop it? Who knows what else he can control? He _is_ dangerous!”

“Anyone has that capability, Markus,” Ben cut in. “Given the right circumstances and reasons, you might kill someone. You can’t punish a man for something he _might_ do, especially if he’s given no indication that he will.”

Markus spun on Ben, his fists perched on his hips. “He’s not a _man_. He’s an alien, a Time Lord, whatever. He could have taken control of those cars and killed everyone in the street.”

“But he didn't. You’re letting your imagination get away from you, Markus.” Ben thumbed his own chest. “I could set off a bomb that could level a skyscraper. Does that make me a murderer right now?”

Will leaned forward, beseeching Markus to calm down. “I know exactly what you’re thinking, mate. You’re scared, because he’s alien and because of what he can do, and you feel betrayed, because you feel that his not being human is so important that he should have told you. I know this because I felt exactly the same way when I found out, and I actually walked out on him when he needed me. I’m not asking you to accept him, or even continue being his friend if you don’t want to. I’m asking you to leave him alone. Let him live his life here on Earth, just like everyone else.”

Glaring at Will, Markus clenched his fists a few times, then whirled and stalked off into the entrance hall of the room to fume. Will shrugged and sat back against the headboard.

“Well,” Ben stated, “I, for one, am willing to keep an open mind for now. I don’t know what to think about him, deceiving us all this time about who he is, but there’s a lot of people who didn’t die today because of him.” Sitting down in the armchair, he crossed his arms, resigned to wait as the alien recovered.

“Thank you, Ben.”

Amy sat down on the foot of the bed and, pulling her legs up, mused on what she’d just heard. Silence settled in the room, broken only by the soft rattle of David’s breathing. Will knew he hadn’t convinced Markus of anything, but he hoped that he would calm down and his reason would prevail before he did something stupid. What else could he say to convince him that David intended no harm? But intention was not the only thing that Markus was concerned with. He feared the things David didn’t intend to do. And Will could not admit to his friends that David himself had said that he had greater responsibilities than to the Earth and may need to act against the interests of the human race. The thought of such a possible situation chilled his soul, and he suppressed an overt shiver.

After a number of minutes of ignoring each other, Amy jumped up and found the television's remote control, flicking it on. They were immediately assaulted by scenes of devastation, news reports on the masses of cardiac arrests, many of which had been fatal before they had been inexplicably reversed, and the numerous casualties caused when the arrests came whilst their victims were doing otherwise safe activities. Streets and highways were clogged by pile-ups, hampering emergency services which were already inadequate to handle such needs. Reports were coming in about similar events from all over the world; Britain wasn't the only victim of the cubes' attacks. The news anchors pleaded with their viewers to stay calm and to expect lengthy delays in response to any calls for assistance.

"Oh my god. I didn't realise..." Amy murmured, then rushed to the hotel phone, trying to call out. After a few tries, she shook her head and dropped the receiver back in the cradle, retreating back to sit on the bed. "Completely tied up. I hope my parents are okay."

Ben strode over and gave her a companionable hug. "I'm sure they're fine, Amy." She turned to nestle into his chest, and he stroked her hair as she tried not to cry. Markus stepped over and punched the button on the remote control to shut off the ongoing disaster reports, and silence fell over the room again.

A bit later, Will was still lost in his own thoughts when the man next to him moaned and stirred. He sat up, looming over David, ready to help in any way he could. Ben jumped up from his chair, Amy spun on the bed, and Markus turned to watch, though he remained in the hallway. David’s eyes creaked open, and he gazed around the room in a glassy daze. “Where?” The breathy word was barely intelligible.

With a faint smile, Will leaned in and murmured quietly, “My suite. You're alive, mate. How are you feeling?"

“I ache. All over. And my head...” He groaned.

“I bet. Honestly, I’m surprised you survived that jolt.”

“I’m hardier than I look.” He gazed up at Will through foggy eyes. “Did it work?”

Will grinned. “Like a charm. There were probably thirty people on that street that owe their lives to you.”

David’s smile was feeble and chill. “So many died.”

“You can’t think like that, mate. Think about how many lived.”

“Yeah. I'm trying. And...?" He looked up at his friend with hope.

Will knew his friend well enough to be able to tell what he wanted to know. "The heart attacks stopped. People started recovering. We saw the cubes reverse what they did whilst we were bringing you here."

“Good." He closed his eyes. "The Doctor must have sorted it.”

"He's here?"

"Aye." Under the blanket, he waved a hand indistinctly near his pocket. "I can hear him.”

Will nodded. "So that’s why it ended. There's just the clean-up now. A lot of it."

"Eh?" David's eyes popped open, the focus returning to them.

"People died of those heart attacks or got hurt as a result. All over the world. It's chaos out there right now."

"What?" Shocked by the news, David jerked upright, only to sway dizzily, Will catching him before he fell over completely. He pushed against his friend’s assistance. “I need to get out there.”

Will guided him into lying back down. "You're not going anywhere, mate. You're in no shape at all. You'd be no use out there."

David inhaled to protest, then thought better of it, relaxing with a resigned sigh. “You're right. I can barely think. Thanks for taking care of me. It’s nice to have friends.” He smiled at everyone around him. 

Ben stood behind Amy, his hand resting on her shoulder, both of them watching him carefully. Markus hid in the shadow of the hallway, his arms crossed over his chest. Will glanced at Markus, then turned back to David. "You have me, at least, mate."

Brave Amy was the first to speak to the alien. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Yeah!" Markus cut in. "Why? Unless there's some reason you really need to hide?" His implication was clear, at least to the humans, and glaring at him, Amy sidled away.

Pushing himself up to sit, David settled himself against the headboard before replying. "Because I knew how hard it would be, for you to believe that I'm not anything special or dangerous. Because I just wanted to live out my time on Earth in peace. Without this," and he waved a hand at the chaos outside the window, "I would have."

Striding forward, Markus emerged from the hallway and stood directly in front of David, at the foot of the bed. “Look, I’m just going to come out and say what everyone’s thinking. We don’t trust you, and we don’t want you here. Earth is for humans, not -”

“Whoa, whoa!” Ben cut him off. “You don’t speak for me. In fact, I think you’re speaking only for yourself here.”

Taken aback, Markus gaped at Ben before replying. “You actually believe anything he says? After he’s been lying to us for the past two years?”

“Has he been lying?" Amy threw out at him. "He chose not to tell us something, and that’s not lying. But I think Will has the right of it. I don’t see why I should think he’s any different than he has been, and he’s been a good bloke all along.” Frowning at Markus, she shook her head. “The person I don’t understand is you. He saved your life! There’s a good chance you’d be dead right now if he hadn’t figured out how to stop your heart attack. I’d think you’d be the first person to defend him.”

“He even saved your life at the cost of his anonymity,” Ben pointed out. “You just don’t want to think that you owe your life to an alien, do you?”

Markus drew himself up. “Bollocks! I’m very grateful to him for saving me!"

"I don't hear you thanking him!" Amy spat back.

Turning to David, Markus executed an exaggerated bow and scrape. "Thank you for saving my life, Lord David," he pronounced, each word oily and sarcastic. He glared back at Amy. "But that doesn’t change the fact that he doesn’t belong here.”

Setting her jaw, Amy stared right back. “I think _you’re_ the one who doesn’t belong here.”

David called, “Don’t,” but it was too late. Markus drew himself up, his arms akimbo.

“Are you blind or just incredibly thick? You trust _him_? You're siding with the alien against your own race? You're right, I don’t belong here. And I’m going to do something about this.” Whirling and striding away, he yanked the door open and stomped out, slamming it behind him.

Amy turned to David, “Don’t worry. He’ll come around. He just needs to calm down.” She didn’t sound very convinced about what she was saying.

“No, he won't.” The alien laid his head back on the headboard and stared up at the ceiling.

Will stood up and crossed the room to the wardrobe, speaking as he dug among his things in the drawer at the bottom. “Do you think he’ll go to UNIT?” He pulled out a jumper and brought it to David.

“Thanks.” Accepting it, he pulled it over his head and threaded his arms into the sleeves as he murmured, “Yeah, he will.”

“And then what will happen?”

"It all depends on what he tells them. But whatever he says, I'm sure they'll check it out, and when they find me, well..." He shrugged.

“Well, mate, you won't have to worry for a bit.” Will patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him. “There's no way he's getting any response from them today. The phones are tied up, the streets are clogged, and I'm sure UNIT has their hands full." 

"Yeah, I have that, at least." David frowned at the window. "But what _did_ happen? What was that all about? It doesn't make sense." He scratched at his chin as he thought. "Why kill only some people? Those cubes were everywhere, so why didn't they kill all of us? Why wait a year? Why make a countdown? Was this some kind of invasion? If so, why didn't they attack when so much of the population was down? Or now, whilst we're in chaos? If this wasn't an invasion, then what was the purpose of it all?"

"Slow down, mate. You're obviously feeling better."

"I am." Drawing his knees up to his chest, he folded his arms on them and rested his chin on the backs of his hands. "I just need to know why. Why is this planet such a magnet for alien disaster?"

"Maybe the Doctor will tell you."

"I can only hope. Which reminds me." Uncurling, he dug his pendant of his pocket and gestured for Will to return his mobile. Placing the former on a pillow, he began fixing the chain with the latter.

"Who is this Doctor person?" asked Amy.

"A friend," answered David. "Someone who's far more competent at this kind of thing than I." Will could see him swallowing his disappointment in himself, and he stepped back to the bed to place a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Hey, don't be like that. You saved a lot of lives out there."

David bowed his head over the necklace, hiding his face. "I know. I just wish I could have done more."

"Yeah. I know."

Ben cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. This might not be the time, but you have to tell us what's going on. Markus might be out of line, but he's right: we've waited long enough, and we deserve the truth."

"Yeah. You do. You're my friends and you deserve to know, especially after all of this. Let me just finish this." It took him less than a minute to fix the chain, and as he hooked the necklace around his neck, the pained oppression in his eyes told Will how much he had treasured the hour's worth of mental freedom he'd enjoyed. David nodded slowly as he tested the device, then smiled at Ben and Amy. "Thanks. Now, where to start?" He stuffed his mobile in his pocket, then tugged at his ear as he composed his thoughts.

"There's this man called the Doctor. That's the name he chose. He's a Time Lord from a planet called Gallifrey. He travels all over the universe, through time and space, righting wrongs, protecting the oppressed, all that storybook stuff, and he loves Earth and humans." He shrugged. "That's the truth and probably as accurate a description of him as I can offer.

"Quite a number of years ago, he created me, a sort of a human clone of himself. I grew up in Scotland and I didn't find out until a couple of years ago where I really came from. Since then, through some complex and, to be totally honest, unbelievable circumstances, I was changed from human into something nearly Time Lord. The Doctor helped me, trained me, taught me about my true heritage, and now I'm living here while I build my spaceship, so that I can leave Earth and find a place for myself.”

His narration was shorter than Will had expected; what David had told him in detail over an entire evening, David had severely abridged for Ben and Amy while still hitting all the salient points. He omitted a number of the more unbelievable twists, such as his original life in a completely different universe and the reason why the Doctor had created him, but they weren't truly important to what Ben and Amy needed to know. Will wondered if he’d been as confused and awed by the convoluted story as they were, judging from their expressions. Probably more, as what David had told him that night was far more impossible than the simplified tale he told here.

“And that’s it.” David jumped up out of the bed and strode around the room, shaking out his long limbs. “I'm a created life form, both human and alien, and I’m here only because I need a home for a few years. I’m not trying to deceive you, and I certainly don’t mean anyone any harm. I’m just trying to live.” Turning toward them, he shrugged. “I don’t know how much of it all you believe, but it’s all true. And I don’t blame you if you don’t believe a lick of it.” He glanced away, staring off into a corner of the room.

"That's quite a tale," Ben finally said, more to say something than because he truly had something to say. "I don't know what to make of it."

"And Will's known this all this time?" asked Amy.

"I told you," Will piped up, "David told me all of this on the day the rhinos invaded. He saved us all from being killed by those things, saved the planet from being destroyed -"

"No, Will," David interrupted, shaking a finger at him, " _you_ are the one that saved _us_ , when you figured out where the fission device was hidden."

"I helped, yes, but you're the one who negotiated with them and figured out what they wanted, and then disarmed it at the end." He held a hand up to stop David from interrupting. "I helped, but the credit goes to you." He turned back to Ben and Amy. "The least I could do to thank him was to keep his secrets."

Ben shuffled uncomfortably. "I don't know. You're an alien. How do I know you're telling the truth? How can I tell that you’re anything like the friend I thought you were? I can't trust myself to judge that properly."

David looked squarely in Ben’s eyes as he replied. “Trust, once betrayed, is difficult to rebuild, and I know you may never trust me again. It’s the risk I took when I kept silent on this, and I understand and accept the consequences.”

"Well," and Amy crossed her arms, "I trust David." She turned to face the alien, and he regarded her with a shade of disbelief in his eyes. "I do. You've always been a good friend, and I think actions speak louder than words. You've never once been hurtful to me, and you did everything you could to save people's lives out there, including revealing yourself and willingly risking your own life. That's good enough for me. I'll keep your secrets."

David responded with a sad smile. "Thank you, Amy."

Ben nodded slowly. "I think you're right, Amy. Yes, you are. I can't say that I won't be wary, that having an alien among us isn't going to be weird, but you're a good bloke and I can accept that."

David nodded. "I appreciate it, both of you. I'm grateful to have such good friends. I wish, however, that it mattered at all." David held up a hand at the surprised frowns of his three friends. "The problem isn't you. The problem is Markus. He'll take the first opportunity he gets to report me to UNIT, or perhaps to a more unsavoury alien defense group, and my life won't be mine anymore. At best, they'll think I'm the Doctor, and either way, they'll definitely want to watch my every move." Rubbing his hands down his face, he was clearly unwilling to say the next thing. "I'm going to have to leave, first moment I can."

"You don't have to, mate."

David smiled at the concern in Will's protest. "Yes, I do. Once they find me, at best, I'll be living under surveillance, and at worst, I'll be taken. It's probably my Time Lord pride speaking, but I refuse to live like that."

"Isn't there anything we can do to help you?" Amy asked.

David shook his head sadly. "You've already done too much. Will here will probably be put on some watch list, because he's way too close. I'm so sorry, Will."

"Don't even think about it, David. I'd never give you up to them."

"I know." David turned to Ben and Amy. "Your best bet is to meet up with Markus tomorrow and convince him that you're on his side, and go to UNIT with him. That way, they won't suspect that you have a connection to me."

"No way." Ben shook his head. "Whatever doubts I might have, I won't join in his xenophobia. I can at least take that stand."

"Me, too," Amy agreed.

David's smile shone with gratitude. "Thank you." He clapped his hands. "Well, I should get moving."

"Already?" Will swallowed his fear of his friend's imminent departure. "There's no way you can get out of the city right now. Not for a couple of days at least."

"No, I can't. But the sooner I cut my ties, the less they can harass you about me." Tugging on an ear, he stared at a picture on the wall as he planned. "I'll head north the moment the roads are clear enough, secure the house, and head out. Oh, the Doctor is not going to like UNIT knowing that he owns that house."

"Where will you go? Are you staying in England at least? Or on the planet?"

"I don't know. I think if I stay on Earth, they'll find me, but I don't know where else to go yet. I don't even know where the, er, my spaceship will be able to take me." He shrugged. "I'll figure it out. And anyway, the less you know, the better."

Will's voice caught in his throat and he coughed. "Will I ever see you again?"

David smiled. "If I live."

Will glared at him. "Don't talk like that, mate. You better come back, and I expect you to tell me all your adventures. I want to know what it's like out there."

"I'll come back as soon as I have a story to tell." David thrust a hand at Will, and his friend grasped it firmly. "Thank you, Will, for everything."

Will pulled his friend into a tight hug, clapping him on the back. As they stepped back from each other, he swallowed against the tightness in his chest. "Just shut it and go, mate. Don't get caught."

David patted him on the shoulder, then stepped back. Flashing a smile at Ben and Amy, he strode away and disappeared into the hallway, letting the door slam behind him.

The three friends stood staring at the door for a while. Finally, Amy plopped down on the bed. "How cruel is this universe, that it rewards a man who does a good, courageous, noble thing by tearing his life apart?" Declining to reply, Will walked over to the window and stared out at the clogged, chaotic street below.

"That's just the way of it, isn't it? Fear and ignorance rules." Ben replied. "Oh, Markus. I hope that someday you realise what you've done to the man who saved your life."

"Well, he hasn't done it yet." Amy sighed. "I'll try my best to persuade him to just let David be. There's got to be a reasonable Markus underneath there somewhere."

"Save your breath," Ben grunted. "Even if Markus agrees to shut up, David's gone already." He patted his dead mobile in his pocket and shrugged.

"We have until he heads home, don't we? We've got to try."

"There he goes." Will's quiet words drew the other two to the window. Down on the street, the alien was picking his way through the mess, searching for opportunities to help and reassuring people as best as he could. Most of the immediate danger was over, with the people who still needed medical attention removed from the street into nearby buildings, so he threw his shoulder into helping push cars onto the sidewalks to open the road.

Ben shook his head. "I don't think I'd be out there if someone had just proved to me how unwelcome I am."

Will shrugged. "That's just what he does. I think he enjoys being useful." He spun back to the room. "I can't watch that anymore."

"I'm so sorry, Will." Amy stepped over and threw her arms around him. He squeezed her as she patted him on the back, then drew away.

"Thanks, Amy." Grabbing the remote control, he flicked the television back on and dropped onto the bed to watch the continuing news reports, his eyes sad and empty.


	3. Chapter 3

Sunday was one of the loneliest days Will had ever spent. His weekend plans, which had involved roaming the city with his friends, were, of course, dashed; even if all of their friendships had remained intact, the city itself was still recovering from the disaster. When the phone lines finally cleared, he contacted his family using the hotel phone, to assure them he was safe and to make sure they were fine, and he was relieved to find that everyone was well. After that, somehow, it didn’t seem right to seek out Ben or Amy for company, so he headed out of the hotel, partly to see if there was anything he could do to help and partly to find an open shop where he could replace his bricked mobile. Cleanup work distracted him from his thoughts and regrets, and when he returned to his room late in the afternoon - without a new phone, as there were few businesses that managed to open that day - he dove into his work to continue his distraction, coding on his laptop late into the night.

By Monday morning, the city was starting to get back into its normal routine. Though slow, traffic had begun to flow, around the workers still clearing the remnants of Saturday’s event. Many businesses were open, though population was rather light, since many people didn’t need to go to their jobs and others chose to stay home. The development studio that Will was working with opened their doors, and though he considered working from his hotel room for the day, he realised that he needed to get out, to pull himself out of the mire of his thoughts. He dragged himself out of his hotel room and tried to buoy his spirits for the walk to the office.

Thus, Will was not prepared to find David lounging on one of the couches in the hotel lobby, just as he had been two days earlier. As soon as Will stepped off the lift, the man jumped up and smiled in greeting, though this time, he waited where he stood for Will to approach him, rather than striding forward to greet him in his usual exuberant manner. Will grinned happily as they grasped hands.

“David!”

“Will, my friend!”

“It’s good to see you!”

“I thought maybe I’d walk with you to your work.”

“Certainly!” They turned toward the door, and Will’s step had an extra bounce that had been absent for two days. “I’m surprised… I thought you’d have headed back north by now.”

“I did.”

Used to David’s sometimes strange and cryptic responses, Will eyed him with mock suspicion. “Turned back? Changed your mind?”

“No. I drove back home last night when the roads were empty, cleared out the house, and left. Today is two years in the past for me.”

Stunned, Will halted in the middle of the sidewalk, nearly causing a collision with the person behind him. As he gaped at David, the alien stopped and turned to wait for his friend.

“You came back in time to today?”

“Yes.” His answer was reasonable and matter-of-fact, as if travelling in time was a perfectly normal thing.

A slow smile spread across Will's face. "That means you did it. You finished the TARDIS."

David's eyes sparkled. "I did."

"Congratulations, mate!" Stepping over to him, Will clapped him on the shoulder. "And how is she?"

"She's the most beautiful thing in the universe, Will," he breathed, his face radiant. "Lovely, lovely thing, she is. Would you like to see her? She's a few blocks in the other direction."

"I would be honoured." Letting David lead on, he drew up abreast of his friend. "So you actually did leave once you got back home. Where did you go?"

"Into the time vortex."

"Well, yes. And then?"

"Nowhere. We drifted through the vortex whilst I built her and studied."

Will stopped in his tracks again. "You've been alone for the past two years?" At David's nod, he threw his hands up in exasperation. "You know you shouldn't have done that."

Holding his arms wide, David shook his head, disagreeing with Will's admonishment. "I think it's done me far more good than either of us might have suspected. I feel more comfortable with myself than I ever have since I became who I am now. I had no Time Lords to make me feel inadequate, and no humans to mould me into someone I can no longer be. I'm neither trying to recapture my old life nor striving for an ideal that I physically cannot achieve." He circled a finger near his temple. "I still have two voices in my head, but they try to work together now. Or at least, I'm better at forcing them to do so."

Will studied David's impassive face, trying to determine if he was telling the truth and if he was actually happy with his life, but he couldn't tell. Stoic and calm, this David was different from his friend from two days ago. He shrugged. "If it's working for you, mate. I still don't think you should be alone."

"I don't care to be alone anymore. I'm done with that."

Will smiled and clapped his friend on the arm. "Good to hear." The two friends resumed walking. "Do you know if you actually had needed to leave, if Markus actually did report you?"

"Oh yes, he did." David didn't seem bothered by it. "The Doctor was waiting for me when I got home." Surprised, Will glanced at his friend, who nodded. "Apparently, he was at UNIT when Markus went there, and was actually present when the scientific advisor took his report."

"Oh, the irony! If only Markus knew that one of 'those aliens' was right there."

David laughed. "That's exactly what I thought, too. Not just any alien, either, but the one who created me, even. Lucky he was there, though. He deflected quite a bit for me. Turns out whenever major events like this happen, UNIT gets flooded with alien sightings. They wouldn’t have paid Markus a bit of attention if he hadn’t mentioned Time Lords. He didn’t spare a detail about me, told them everything he knew, including where I lived. So, after he left, the Doctor told them that he’d spent a little time on Earth at that house during his last incarnation. The scientific advisor was rather upset that they hadn’t known, but at least they’ve classified me - or him, I suppose - as a surveillance target, rather than a military matter.” He shrugged. “The Doctor came to warn me to get out, so I suppose my instincts were good. You should know that you, Ben, and Amy will be under surveillance for now, but I’ve checked and nothing untoward came of it. They’ll reclassify you in a few months.”

Will clenched his fists. "Markus could use a good pounding."

"Not on account of me. Remember, to me, it's all done and over with. No use dredging up the past like that." He snapped his fingers. "But, I _can_ tell you what all this was about." He gestured at one of the crumpled abandoned cars parked on the street.

"Oh, right!" Will snapped his fingers. "The Doctor took care of it all, didn't he?"

"Yes. Apparently some alien self-proclaimed custodians of the universe decided the human race needed to be stopped before it spread across the stars, so they sent down the cubes to wipe out the population."

Despite knowing better than to doubt that anything could be possible, Will eyed his friend with disbelief. "There's some species out there that just decides, 'Hey, we don't like you, so we'll just wipe you off your planet?'"

David nodded. "Apparently. Though I suppose there are plenty of incidents of humans doing that to each other."

Will scowled before replying. "Yeah, that's fair. So the Doctor drove them off somehow?"

"Didn't need to," David answered, scratching his head. "They sent an automated system to implement the genocide. Once it left, the Doctor managed to reverse the electrical charge to defibrillate the affected people en masse."

"And what's going to stop them from coming back and doing it again?"

David shrugged his ignorance. "I don't know. I suppose we just have to hope that the Doctor will be here the next time. Perhaps the human race will learn not to trust millions of little black cubes appearing out of nowhere in an instant." David quirked a sardonic smile at his friend.

"Not likely." Despite his cynicism, Will puffed out a breath in relief. "Thank him for me when you get the chance. There were a lot of casualties, but if he hadn't been here..."

David wagged a finger at his friend. "Like you told me two years ago, it doesn't help to imagine what might have happened. He was, and that's all that matters."

Will glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye. "You miss him, don't you, mate?"

David's reply was immediate. "Very much. It hurt so to see him again, but in a good way."

"Well, maybe your paths will cross more, now that you'll be able to travel like he does." He patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Oh, no," David breathed. "That's not my destiny."

"You don't think you'll see him again?"

"No." The man glanced around at the people on the street and at the buildings, anywhere but at his friend. "I mean that I won't be travelling."

"What? Why not?"

This time, David stopped short. He collected himself before replying, taking a breath deep into his chest. He looked Will directly in the eyes as he spoke. "The TARDIS won't hear me. She doesn't accept me." His gaze dropped to the sidewalk, his eyes glistening. "I thought it would happen when she was fully grown and ready to fly, but apparently not."

Will's jaw dropped in horrified amazement. He knew that Time Lords bonded with their TARDISes, and the ship's refusal of one of the last Time Lords in the universe was the harshest of insults. "I'm sorry, mate." His throat closed and he coughed before continuing. "Do you know why?"

David looked up, his demeanour calm and steady. "I do not. Normally, a Time Lord can at least hear a TARDIS, even if he doesn't bond to her. I can't even do that. She's silent to me. I can only assume that I am not pure enough, that my humanity makes me not enough of a Time Lord to deserve her." Will guessed that beneath that unemotional facade, David was keeping a steely grip on his anguish and injured pride.

"But can't you pilot her anyway? You told me before that the bond is not necessary, just preferable."

David jammed his hands in his pockets and spun away a bit, his shoulders hunched. "I could, but that would feel like rape. Forcing her into a marriage she doesn't want, making her take me places when she doesn't want to be with me. I couldn't do that to her." 

Will clapped a hand to his mouth, trying to think of anything he could do to help or even just console his friend, but came up empty. "Then what will you do?"

David smiled, his eyes crinkling with tender appreciation. "Don’t worry so for me, Will. I always planned to settle down, you know, spend my life as a temporal engineer. It's fascinating science, and it's what I've wanted to do ever since I started my studies. I just intended to travel a bit before that.” He shrugged. “Once I leave here, I plan to find a planet I can settle on. Humans in this time zone won't tolerate an alien among them, living for a thousand years, but maybe a future colony, one that deals with aliens regularly. Once I find that, then I'll release her. She could choose to return to the vortex, or fly on alone. More likely, she'll find somewhere to slowly die. That's what they normally do when they don't have a partner. Can you imagine that, Will?" His eyes widened in reluctant wonder. "Whatever it is about me that she doesn't like is so objectionable, she prefers to die."

Will shivered at David's conversational tone. "Mate, that's horrible. And yet, you still love her, don't you?"

That thought animated David almost as much as he used to, back before he had left. "Of course I do. She is brilliant! The most beautiful creature to ever inhabit this universe! Oh, wait until you see her, Will! She's just ahead a wee bit more."

David quickened his pace and Will had to break into a trot to keep up as he silently marvelled at his friend's adoration of the time travel capsule that was breaking his hearts. David displayed no animosity toward the TARDIS, but instead deep disappointment in the rejection and in himself and his perceived inadequacy. Will wondered if such a reaction was a Time Lord trait, because if he'd been in his shoes, he knew he couldn't help but be angry at her for this, after nurturing and caring for her for so long.

Another block up, they arrived at a modern building, built of black marble and glass. David led his friend to a column and gestured at it. "I landed her to envelop the column here. Come on."

Will was not quite sure what happened. One moment, he was on the sidewalk next to a massive black stone column, and the next, he was walking into the time machine. The last time he'd been here, the chamber had been white and featureless, strewn with tools, gadgets, materials, and workbenches. This time, though, the mess was gone. The cream walls were honeycombed with large bevelled circles, and ramps led up to the central platform. What seemed before to be a plain white table was now a hexagonal dais, with matte silver panels edged in polished brass and covered with incomprehensible controls and what looked like computer consoles. The central column of clear glass housed several shorter glass tubes, and around its base, a video monitor was mounted, obviously meant to swing in front of the pilot wherever he might be standing around the panel. Three different doorways around the perimeter of the chamber opened into halls which extended further than Will could see.

"She's gorgeous, mate," he breathed as he tried to peer down one of the halls. "How far does this go?"

"Further than I've explored. The interior of a TARDIS is vast. She might still be expanding, too." As he spoke, he began undoing the chain around his neck, to remove his inhibitor pendant. "I hope you don't mind me taking this off. I've become quite used to not having it on. This is the first time I've worn it in a very long time."

Will was still gaping at the TARDIS, and as he walked up to the central console, he waved an absent hand at David. "Not at all. Go right ahead." He reached out a hand to touch the panel, then jerked it back like he'd been stung. "Can I touch?"

"Please."

He ran his hand along the panel, then over a bank of buttons. Even the material felt unearthly, though he couldn't describe what it was he sensed about it. "Can she feel that?"

"I'm sure she can, in her way."

Will's gaze darted nervously around the chamber. "Can she hear me talking?"

"Yes, of course. She always has." As he spoke, David caressed the levers in front of him. "She's aware of everything that goes on inside her, though she may not understand it. TARDISes are four-dimensional creatures, and they don't truly understand flesh beings like us."

"Ah, I see." Will glanced at David, then up at the column. He had the strangest feeling that the consciousness of the TARDIS was centered there. He cleared his throat. "Hey, TARDIS!" he yelled up at it.

"Will!" David was appalled. "Be respectful."

"Hello? You listening?” he yelled. “What in the bloody hell is wrong with you?"

Alarmed, David scooted around the central panel, holding his hand out to stop his friend. "Will!"

Will hopped away from him and started striding around the console. Continuing to yell at the air, he stared around, not quite sure where to look to make sure he was being heard. "What is wrong with you, rejecting David like this? He's a fantastic bloke. He's strong and he's clever, and devoted. He's everything a mate should be, and he's done everything he can to protect me and everyone around him, without once considering the cost to himself."

"Will. Stop it.” David’s command forced Will’s attention to him, and he staggered back a step, stunned. The man was terrifying when he wanted to be, consciously or not, and Will had never before been on the receiving end of his anger. “She is a TARDIS. She's got her own desires for her pilot. You can't force her to accept me. I don't want a partner who doesn't want me."

Glaring at his friend, Will set his jaw. He collected his courage and spat back, "Bollocks! She's got no reason to reject you."

"She has plenty of reason!” His conviction suddenly breaking, he mumbled, “I'm not a Time Lord, Will. Not a real one, not enough of one. Whatever it is she wants, I'm just not good enough for her, okay?" The admission pained him more than he could endure, and tears began to stream down his cheeks.

Will stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on David’s shoulder. "That's always been your problem, mate: you never think you’re good enough. You're bloody brilliant! Honourable, brave, compassionate, generous, humble... I'm running out of adjectives here!" He spun around yelling up to the ceiling, "You're just being difficult!"

The floor beneath him lurched, sending both men sprawling, and a low rumble suffused the chamber.

David crawled over to the console, clinging to it as he tried to regain his feet against the quaking. Spreading his arms over the hexagonal panel as if he was trying to shield it from his friend, he cried, "Stop it, Will! Leave her alone!" Nestling his face into the controls, he sobbed, broken, against his beloved ship.

Will remained crouching on the floor. "I won't! You deserve so much better than this, David. After all you've done, all your sacrifices, all those punches to your gut when you were giving your all to do what's right, you're just going to quietly accept this and hide yourself in a hole somewhere and waste your thousand years of life?" He called out to the TARDIS again. "Is this how you repay him, after he devoted over four years to nurture and care for you?"

The chamber bucked violently, throwing Will a metre into the air and he landed hard on his back. Flattened against the console, David barely managed to hold on to it.

Ignoring the pain, Will sneered up at the vaulted ceiling above him. "So it's come to this, then? Maybe if you hurt me, I'll shut up? Well, I won't! I know he’s a fine man, Time Lord or human or whatever he is, and you know it, too. Look at him! Really look at him! Ha!" He jabbed a hand up at the time rotor. "He’s spent all this time thinking that he doesn’t deserve you, but I think it’s _you_ who doesn’t deserve _him_!”

The tremors subsided and silence settled throughout the chamber, broken by David’s ragged gasps. As Will sat up, glancing around in suspicion of the sudden stillness, David wrenched himself from the console and scrubbed at his face, trying to get himself under control.

After a number of seconds of eerily quiet calm, Will shattered the silence with a tentative phrase. “I went too far, didn’t I?” He clutched nervously at the smooth floor, afraid to even move.

“I… I don’t know?” David seemed as petrified as the man on the floor. “If she’s angry, she could do whatever she wanted to us. I don’t know what this- _ah!_ ”

Startled by David’s sudden cry, Will jumped to his feet and spun to his friend. The man was frozen, his body taut, his eyes glassy and unfocused. They widened as his stunned expression melted into revelation, then ecstasy. “You… you…” he breathed hoarsely, “you want me! Oh, I hear you, you beauty!” His eyes fluttered shut and he stood motionless, drinking in the connection with his time travel capsule.

Barely daring to believe that the craft had listened to him, Will watched his friend for a bit, then glanced around the chamber, hoping the ship wasn’t too angry with him. As the seconds passed, he began to feel rather uncomfortable witnessing what was obviously a private moment, and he turned away to busy himself with looking at console controls or whatever he could find to do when David spoke.

“He was testing us.”

“Eh?” Will turned back.

David was still enthralled by the psychic connection with the TARDIS, his eyes glowing pale gold as they gazed blankly Will. “Well, mostly testing _you_. He always intended to have me. He wanted to know what you were worth, how far you were willing to go for me, if you were worthy of my friendship.”

Will couldn't believe it. “He refused you for _four years_ to figure that out about me?”

David didn't seem concerned. “To us, yes. To him, well, he’s a TARDIS. He inhabits time. He always knew of you, long before I did, and four years or two seconds aren’t different for him.”

“Wait." Confused, he pointed at David. "Your spaceship is a bloke?”

That brought David back to the physical world, though his eyes continued to shimmer. “No." He tested the thought for a moment. "He doesn’t have a gender, but that's the pronoun he wants. He's not an 'it'.”

"Oh." Will shrugged. “I always thought you were just using ‘she’ like you call a ship.”

“So did I.” David blinked a few times, then, smiling, strode over and fairly tackled his friend in an ecstatic embrace. “Oh, thank you, thank you! Oh, Will! You are magnificent!”

Biting back an embarrassed grin, Will pounded David on the back. "I didn't do anything, mate. He's always been yours."

"Oh, no. No, no, no." David drew back. "Will, you've always been brilliant, being there for me, keeping me grounded, telling me what I needed to hear. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you. And then this! Fighting for me, for my life, when I had given up." Spinning away, he flung his arms out to encompass the entirety of the time machine. "Look at what you've given me! The universe and the loveliest ship ever to explore it with! I'll witness the most glorious stories firsthand and spread them across all of creation!" Abruptly, his whirl came to a stop and he stared at Will, his eyes wide with sudden doubt. "You'll come, won't you?

Will was puzzled. "Eh? Come where?"

"Come with me." David's voice was quiet but filled with wonder. "Into the past and the future, to planets across this galaxy and all others. Anywhere you want to go, anywhen that sparks your fancy." His countenance shone as he anticipated his friend's acceptance.

Will's surprise caught in his throat and he sputtered and coughed before he could speak. "I... I don't know, mate."

David sobered instantly. His eyes dulled and his arms dropped to his sides. "Ah. I see." His voice was serious and measured, an octave lower than it had been a moment ago. "I ask too much."

"No, that's not what I meant." Will hastened to explain. "I hadn't expected the question, mate. I've never even considered doing such a thing. I always assumed that when your work was done, you'd be gone in an instant."

David’s eyes wandered to the console, and he idly ran his fingers over the controls. "I'd always hoped you would want to come with me."

"It's almost beyond belief, going out into space and seeing the universe. A lad's fantasy. I can't even imagine..." He held his head in both hands. "But I have my real life here. This is not an easy decision."

Continuing to avert his eyes, David shrugged. "I can bring you back to this place, this moment, whenever you decide you've had enough. You can pick up your life where you left it."

"If I survive. It'll be dangerous, right?"

The Time Lord turned back to his friend, catching his eye with cold honesty. "Sometimes. You may never come home. You need to understand that I cannot in good faith guarantee that. But I once promised you that I would protect you as best I can, and that promise still stands."

Staring into David's eyes, Will nodded. He needed to make his decision knowing all of the risks, but when it came down to it, some things were worth the danger. "I'll come with you, mate. I'll gladly stand side-by-side with you and face whatever the universe can throw at us."

David's lips curved into a shy, pleased smile. "Welcome aboard, my friend. Oh!" He spun toward the console and began working, his hands flying over the controls as he circled it. "We'll need to stop by your house. I don't have much in here other than my things, so you'll want to bring some clothes and anything you think you might need."

Will frowned. "How am I supposed to know what I might need?"

David waved a dismissive hand at Will as he continued to work the console. "Oh, just grab some clothes. We'll come back for anything you find you want."

"You don't know what you're doing, do you, mate?" He crossed his arms, trying to mask his incredulity and amusement with a disdainful smirk.

"What?” He stared at Will, hurt at his friend’s lack of confidence in him, though Will suspected that it was a mock injury, expressed by an expert actor. “Of course I do! I've been out there, with the Doctor and Jenny, and as you can see, we survived."

"And what did you bring with you on your travels then?"

"Mostly our wits." David winked.

"Marvellous."

Grinning mischievously, David threw a lever on the panel in front of him and gazed up at the central glass column with shining eyes. With a grinding noise that reverberated through the chamber, the bundle of clear tubes inside the cylinder began to oscillate up and down. "We're off, Will. One short hop back home, and then we're off to see the universe."

Also captivated by the motion of the time rotor, Will stepped up next to him. "First day of the rest of your life and all that, right, mate?"

"The first page of the next chapter of my story. I'm honoured to have you writing it with me." Throwing an arm around Will's shoulders, David squeezed his friend, then settled back as the TARDIS carried them into the time vortex.


End file.
